• Our staff takes a three-tiered approach towards teaching: didactic, coaching, and Socratic seminar:
  • Didactic: Acquisition of knowledge, fundament subjects
  • Coaching: Development of knowledge via practice, integrated arts, problem solving, and interactive learning.
  • Socratic Seminar: Enlarged understanding of knowledge via listening, questions, and group discussion.
• We place a strong emphasis on whole-child education, helping students live up to his or her potential
• Emphasis on fundamental curricular comprehension
• Active learning, valuing higher order thinking, not just facts
• Introduces students to the arts, music, and the humanities
• Teaches a Biblical view of humanity, what it means to be made in God’s image
• Comprehensive history, from creation to Christ’s coming
• Introduction of foreign language in early grades (Spanish)
• Music and visual art introduction
• Active learning, fostering students to think, discuss, and act in ways that will help them flourish.

Developing the Textual Community Alongside the Integration of Convergence Culture and Media by Skip Heitzig – Discover the Biblical base for textual community in this dissertation by Skip Heitzig.

Pastor Chuck Smith encourages a Christ-centered education, comparing and contrasting the prevalent mindset of government schools with a Christ-based education. He offers encouragement, analyses, and insight to the goal of Christian education; drawing the conclusion that education is to be both academic as well as Christ-based.

The Master Teacher by Brian C. Nixon – Written as a primer for Christian schools, Sunday schools, and church-sponsored education groups, The Master Teacher discusses the Biblical base for developing a philosophy of education. Focusing on the foundation, framework, and fruit of a Christ-based model.

KLYT radio interviews Brian Nixon about the unique paideia form of education implemented at Calvary Church schools.

Radio Interview – Day 1

Radio Interview – Day 2

In Pastor Skip’s dissertation, he likens Calvary Church to a “textual community” (Latin:  Communitatis Textual).  A textual community is a gathering of people surrounding a text, a “community whose life, thought, sense of identity and relations with outsiders are organized around an authoritative text.” It is a term that helps explain the role texts, particularly the Bible, influenced culture.  At Calvary Elementary, we are a community of learners surrounding the Bible, using it as our foundation and framework for all curricular and educational structures.

Educational Values

Using the two Christ-based Biblical texts as our foundation (how Jesus grew, Luke 2:52; and the heart of what Jesus taught, Matthew 22:37), our educational values act as our foundational framework for our school’s curriculum and life.

Wisdom: “With All Our Mind,” Academically

Calvary Church Elementary School yearns to foster an intellectual atmosphere where all students are prepared in all academic settings, covering a broad field of knowledge. As mentioned above, our educational pedagogy follows a paideia framework. The objective of specifically selected curriculum is to equip students with strong skills of analysis, expression, comprehension and critical thinking that will ultimately prepare them for every opportunity the Lord has purposed for their lives. Our methodology features traditional, well-balanced curricular emphasis focusing on time-proven educational blocks. All subjects are presented cumulatively, with each lesson building upon previously acquired knowledge and understanding. Memorization, drills, repetition and comprehension are emphasized in the lower grades. Critical thinking, application and analysis are stressed during the upper grades. Communication, synthesis and evaluation are interwoven throughout each grade level via our Socratic seminars, culminating in a well-rounded, creative approach towards education.

Stature: “With All Our Strength,” Physically

Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6:20 that we were “bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” We strive to inspire each member of our student body to live a healthy life and care for their bodies as holy temples of the Lord that are equipped to carry out the good news of the gospel. Therefore, through the promotion of regular physical activity, organized sports, health awareness, purity of body and good sportsmanship, a healthy balance between mind and body is achieved for the glory of the Lord.

Favor With God: “With All Our Heart,” Spiritually

Glorifying God is the end result of the Christian life. In the end, our spiritual life is essential to our educational framework. We realize humans have been created with a spiritual need to know God and to have a personal relationship with Him through His Son Jesus Christ. We believe the spiritual elements of our life and learning are the most fundamental. As a result, we place top priority on the scriptures as our source of truth. We believe the scriptures, without error in the original writings, are the divine and final authority for all Christian life and faith. Thus, at the core of our academic program is a daily incorporation of the nature of God and study of the scriptures as they relate to each subject studied. The results will provide each student a deeper appreciation of their relationship with God and help form a worldview that has at its foundation the heart and teachings of Jesus.

Favor With Man: “With All Our Soul,” Socially

Here Jesus uses the Greek word “psuche” for “soul,” referring to the essence of who we really are as humans. The Bible says when God created Adam He breathed into Him the breath of life and Adam became a living soul. Housed within our soul is the essence of who we really are, as well as the determining factors of how we relate socially to one another and to God. Thus, at Calvary Church Elementary School we seek to instill and promote harmonious interrelationships between one another; to value and treat others with integrity and respect as God desires, and to learn our civic responsibilities as citizens of a country and world. Our soul contains our deepest desires, fears, affections, and feelings, all of which create our social interaction with God and each other, and the responsibility through which to lovingly honor Him in our daily conduct and relationships.

Outcome: “We Are to Love Our Neighbor As Ourselves,” Service and Citizens

As a result of a Calvary Church Elementary School’s education, students will have an active awareness of the school community that surrounds them and the biblical mandate of putting the interests of others ahead of our own. Students will understand that everyone has different backgrounds, abilities and attributes. Due to these differences, students will be encouraged to practice kindness, humility and mercy with others. In order to ensure the vibrant community of which the students belong, it is required of them to get along with one another, with an awareness of the ramifications when community standards of service are not respected. Ultimately this daily commitment towards loving each other overflows beyond the campus and becomes the application of our education in the world, preparing our students as citizens of God’s kingdom and productive citizens in the world.